New Recipe Index

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

It so happened that Chinese New Year (2014) was over and I didn't make my peanut rolls as planned. I just wanted to get rid of the pack of spring roll wrappers. Not wanting to do anything I have done, I remembered there was this popiah bersira recipe that I had been seeing on a few blogs

I have eaten this quite a number of times and it's very addictive. Once I pop, I can't quite stop. But after I have tried making this, I can totally control myself, as I know how siiiiiiinnnfuuuuuul this is. Seriously I kid you not.

I brought a jar to work and my colleagues munched on it and once I told her how much oil was in it... she stopped eating right away. Hahaha!

So, how come there's a lot of oil? It's from the frying. You can't use hot oil to fry these, if not the outer layer will burn and the inner part stays soft. So, you have to use medium heat and fry them. When it's not hot oil, the oil just gets sucked up. I saw the difference of oil in my wok, before and after frying.

Do you want a jar?

Well... there's one way you can reduce the oil, that is to bake these rolls. Before you roll the wrappers, brush with a thin layer of oil. Seal with egg white and snip them short. Arrange them, in a single layer on a baking tray and bake at 180C until they turn golden and crispy. It's a lot of work and takes a lot of time. Frying is the easy way out and it makes them prettier too, because the layers will be more visible.

Which method will you choose? Frying or baking? Do you have calories to spare or time to spare? Choose one :)

1. Roll spring roll wrappers, not to tightly. Seal ends with egg white. Refer here. Snip them short.
2. Grind chilli, shallots and garlic to a paste. Set aside.
3. Deep fry the wrappers on medium heat until they are golden and crispy. Drain away excess oil with paper towels.
4. Pour away most of the oil, leaving behind around 4-5 Tbsp of oil.
5. Saute the chilli paste until it looks glossy. Then add in seasonings and sugar. Cook the chilli glaze until the sugar melts.
6. Pour the fried spring roll wrappers in and toss it, taking care not to break the crispy wrappers.
7. Turn off the heat and continue tossing every now and then for around 5 minutes to prevent the crisps from getting stuck in one big lump
8. Keep the crisps in an air tight container.